Curriculum and Instruction

All gradesDuring a school wide assembly on Global Climate Change, ACE (Alliance for Climate Education) speaker, Cy Maramangalam, gives an overview to students on the human impact on climate and the environment. (November 2013)

Six, seventh and eight grade students in a year-long debate seminar researched the issue of hydraulic fracturing. Students conducted extensive research into the environmental impact and costs of the fracking process, government energy policies, and public reaction to fracking in their communities, then developed persuasive arguments in preparation for the Howard County Middle School Debate Tournament to be held on April 7, 2014.

Our Art teacher at Harper's Choice Middle School weaves environmental issues into many of his projects. One example is students creating bird houses from recycled materials. In an effort to reduce paper waste, he has students retain their sketch books from year to year, adding to them over the course of their middle school years.

Grade 6

Sixth grade science classes investigated the causes of erosion and how to control it. Based on a variety of real-world examples that tied into historical events, students made suggestions that included using rocks, drainage systems, retention walls, and vegetation to prevent erosion. Students then made recommendations to the school board in a formal letter on how to design a basketball court at the bottom of a hill that would not become covered by eroded soil in a simulated activity as part of the environmental unit. (October 2013)

Dr. Izolda Trachenberg, a NCTAF/NASA resource, taught a lesson to sixth grade science students on ground-level ozone in order to demonstrate how automobile exhaust contributes to air pollution at the school pick up/drop off zone. Students counted clouds and researched how they affect temperature. These activities tied in both the environmental and weather units. (May 2013)

NorthBay Outdoor Environmental Education CenterAll sixth grade students benefit from an annual weeklong residential camp at NorthBay Environmental Education Center. (November 2012, November 2013) Students engage in activities where students discover environmental concepts through creative simulations. During a lesson on trees, students determine how much a tree is worth by measuring it's height, width, etc. in order to determine a cost/benefit analysis of cutting down trees. Students also play many educational games, such as "Sediment, Sediment" where they imitate nature (as nature and trees) to see the effects of excess water, loss of sediment, and the importance of trees. Students reflect on what they've learned in journals daily. (sample below).

Grade 7

All seventh graders attended a field trip to Robinson Nature Center, May, 2013 as an extension to their science environmental unit. The students walked the grounds of the Nature Center and discovered invasive species and native species of plant life. They learned the importance of controlling invasive plants and the need to maintain the native plant life in our area as it works to buffer pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay.

These experiences were expanded upon in English classes when the students returned to school and wrote poems with a nature theme while enjoying our outdoor classroom.(below).

Students are introduced to their new outdoor classroom that was made possible by the HCMS community partnership with Lowes. After the dedication these seventh grade science students took part in a genetics lab dealing with petunias and the mixing and matching of genetic information to create flowers with different petal variations.(April 2012)

Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem Presentation

Under the Sea presentation to the entire seventh grade. (Yearly since 2012, most recent April 1, 2014)Chesapeake Critters was the theme of this presentation which familiarizes the students with one of the world's most productive estuaries that's right in our own background. The presentation involves live animals that are native to the Chesapeake in its teaching of the history of the Bay and its environmental impact on the area. The students are presented with graphs and are challenged throughout the presentation to find solutions to ecological issues

Grade 8

Energy Conservation Lessons

Diane Sweeney, HCPSS Energy Specialist, spoke to an eighth grade reading class onways to conserve energy in schools. Students analyzed graphs dealing with energy usage in our school building and highlighted months and dates in which energy usage spiked and declined. Claims and evidence were then written using the data. Math classes used data supplied by her office to create graphs that were then analyzed. (March 18, 2014)

Actual school energy useage data that 8th grade students used to analzye energy use and costs.

School Garden Project

Students researched gardens in their Reading Module class. Based upon this research, students created a design and budget for a community garden to be located on the school's property. This will be proposed to the administration in May. This research is in conjunction with their investigation into personal lifestyle choices and the effect on climate change, which is being driven by our school's partnership with NASA and NCTAF. Social Studies classes are incorporating the history of farming and the impact of the industrial revolution on home grown food and farming and the increase of air pollution. (January - June 2014)

8th grade Reading class students researched, planned and created this site plan for the school garden.

"We should become a green school because the environment needs our help. Humans polluted this world and it's up to us to help clean it up. Taking it one school at a time and branching out to entire communities will eventually make this world a better place."